Long Live Liaquat Ali Chattha!

In my 78 years of life, I have known and heard of many bureaucrats, but none quite like Liaquat Ali Chattha, the Commissioner of the Rawalpindi division in Pakistan. Recently, he held a press conference, resigned, and was subsequently arrested and taken to an unknown location. What he did at this press conference is perhaps unprecedented worldwide: he confessed to his crime of rigging the parliamentary elections in his division and stated that he deserved to be publicly hanged.

• Press conference confession
• Further details on the confession

In the 13 parliamentary constituencies of his division, PTI candidates were initially leading by over 70,000 votes each. However, under his orders, they were declared to have lost (Al Jazeera). He mentioned that due to pressure from higher-ups, he “stabbed the country in the back,” a deed that cost him several sleepless nights, and he was taking full responsibility for his actions.

• Admission of guilt and resignation
• Public disclosure of election rigging

Some individuals, mostly associated with the erstwhile PDM government, have labeled Liaquat Ali as mentally unstable. Punjab’s caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir dismissed his allegations, attributing them to mental illness. Former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan of the PMLN referred to him as a “psycho”.

• Mental illness allegations

However, in my view, his actions were a genuine expression of remorse without any ulterior motive. There’s no question that the elections were massively rigged. Early results had indicated a significant lead for PTI candidates, which was mysteriously altered after several hours of delay in the announcements.

• Evidence of massive election rigging

The remorse felt by the Commissioner, which nearly drove him to suicide, is reminiscent of a historical incident over 2200 years ago involving Emperor Ashoka. After his victory in the Battle of Kalinga, Ashoka felt profound remorse for the death and suffering caused, leading to his famous expression of repentance in the Kalinga Edict.

• Kalinga War and Ashoka’s remorse

While Liaquat Ali Chattha may not have been an emperor or ruled over an empire, his public confession and expression of remorse are unparalleled in world history. Both as a victor expressing regret over his conquest and as a bureaucrat admitting to a crime of this magnitude, his actions are worthy of admiration.

Long live Liaquat Ali Chattha! Hats off to him!